Monday, March 27, 2006

In which I bore you
(assuming you even read it)

So the breakfast thingy of the week is pumpkin cranberry breakfast cookies. And that is good. They aren’t vegan but I guess they could be with a little work. I’ve not mess much with egg replacers, I guess that will have to be my next round of experimental baking.

So it was a weekend of…well…we went to some places we had never been…and we got lost coming home. Well, James, got lost. And he will tell you he didn’t get lost he knew where he was going; he just went 2o some odd blocks out of the way. I knew where I was but after I asked him if he knew how to get home and he said yes, I kept my mouth shut for 17 blocks. Maybe he was taking me somewhere nice for a surprise, how would I know? Turns out he just went the wrong way. Go figure.

Anyway, one of the new places we visited was Mitsuwa Marketplace, a Japanese supermarket. I did go there with an ulterior motive in mind. I really wanted to find a Sakura Kit-Kat. And I did. And it was good. (Hunh, in looking for a picture of it, I found a lot of negative reviews. Me, I’m pretty picky about chocolate and I liked it, so there!) I had also read that they had excellent sushi grade fish. We didn’t get any because we didn’t know when we would get home, so I am thinking next time we will put a cooler in the trunk. Just in case.

I think it’s always fun to explore grocery stores. I like finding new products and new foods. Since this was largely imported products, there was a lot to linger over. We came home with some candy, some beer and some pork buns and I am quite sure we will go back for some fish and more candy.

Then we had dinner at The Counter.. It’s a nice burger joint and when you sit down you are given a clipboard with a checklist to build your own burger. The possibilities are kind of staggering. You can also chose between beef, turkey and veggie burgers and I think even a chicken breast. I did have beef, even though I am not a fan because I kind of felt like I should try what they were famous for. Frankly, I could have been happy with a sammich made just from toppings. They had an amazing onion marmalade and lovely veggies. I ended up giving a good portion of the meat to James but I ate all the bleu cheese, mixed greens, tomatoes and onion marmalade myself. We also tried the fried dill pickles. They were fine but I probably wouldn’t get them again. Nothing wrong with them but they didn’t thrill me. I did notice that they offer a chocolate burger for dessert but that just scared me and there was no way I could have fit it in anyway.

It was kind of big cooking weekend too. Aside from the breakfast cookies, I made some tortillas and some potato/corn filling for tonight’s enchiladas. And for dinner last night I tried out Martha’s recipe for chicken and dumplings. I liked the gravy and I guess I always thought you needed more liquid than this to make the dumplings but no. I did decide that I preferred my own version of dumplings though and will continue to make them with Bisquick (That last bit is mostly for my brother who also likes to make what we grew up calling “chicken pot-pie” and everyone else calls “chicken and dumplings”).

OK enough. If you made it this far you are now bored. Go read something interesting.

3 comments:

Jodi said...

Next time, can I go to the Japanese market with you?

I love The Counter!!! And I happen to really like their fried dill pickle chips too. Ever since Eric and I had them in Alabama one time, we'd hoped to find them somewhere out here (b/c you know I'm not making them!)

My mom used to make chicken & dumplings that I loved. Yum!

By the way, I found that caramel brownie or whatever Luna bar you told me about (at Trader Joe's) and yes, it is wonderful.

Anonymous said...

mmm...pot-pie. mom swears she never puts bay leaf if with the chicken but it just doesn't taste right to me without it

Brenda Griffith said...

No, I am not bored, but I sure am hungry! Especially for the chicken pot pie thingy. I may have to wander down the aisle and find me some lunch!